Thersites

American  

[ther-sahy-teez] / θərˈsaɪ tiz /

noun

1. (in theIliad ) a Greek who accused Agamemnon of greed and Achilles of cowardice during the Trojan War.

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Thersites British  

/ θəˈsaɪtiːz /

noun

1. the ugliest and most evil-tongued fighter on the Greek side in the Trojan War, killed by Achilles when he mocked him

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Example Sentences

Going back a millennium to ancient Greece, consider Thersites in Homer’s “The Iliad.”

From Washington Post

But Odysseus beats Thersites with a scepter until he collapses.

From Washington Post

Impossible to imagine Lear’s Fool succeeding him or Thersites commanding the Greek army.

From The Guardian

The “scabrous” Thersites in Troilus and Cressida speaks with relentless, scene-stealing venom.

From The Guardian

As Greek and Trojan nobles “clapperclaw” one another, and as Prince Troilus woos Cressida through the agency of her debauched uncle, Pandarus, then wins and loses her, Thersites wanders on and off the stage like an envenomed tragic chorus.

From The New Yorker